- JEDDAH: A literary seminar organized by Samskrithi, a cultural organization of Indian expatriates in Jeddah, expressed its delight over the winning of a number of awards by Keralite men of letters working in the Gulf and said their works were based on stark realities of life away from home.
During the seminar, a book by Rayinkutty Neerad titled “Karmaveediyile Harithakandi” was released by K. Rahmathullah, principal of Al-Wurood International School, by presenting a copy to Alungal Muhammad, chairman of Al-Abeer Medical Group. Neerad said his book was based on his experiences in the Kingdom.
Samskrithi honored Neerad by giving a cash award, which was handed to him by V.P. Muhammad Ali, managing director of Jeddah National Hospital. Professor Abdul Ali introduced the book while professor Ismail Marutheri, C.O.T. Aziz and Abu Iringattiri spoke about the book.
Addressing the seminar, Kassim Irikkur, news editor of Gulf Madhyamam, spoke about prospects of writing books for Gulf writers. “Every life and image we see here can be developed into a story or a novel,” he said, citing various examples. K.P. Muhammad Kutty opened the seminar.
Gopinad Nedungadi highlighted the literary contributions of Keralite expatriate workers in the Gulf.
He appreciated the work of Muzaffar Ahmed (Maruboomiyude Atmakatha or Biography of the Desert), which won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award recently. Professor Sudakaran, Hassan Cherupa, Srikala Venugopal, Usman Irumpuzhi and P.T. Muhammad spoke at the function, which was chaired by Samskrithi chairman N. Muhammad Kutty.